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The park has been closed for a couple weeks, according to David Cannon Jr., a volunteer with Wyoming Valley Dog Owners Group, who opened the city-owned park back in 2010 after conducting several years of fundraisers.

“People used to raise a lot of money for the park. When it first opened, people were very generous,” Cannon said. “Now, it’s like no one wants to do anything. People expect to use it for free.”

Cannon said the group can no longer afford to pay for liability insurance. He said fencing and equipment that were donated to the group or that the group bought with donations will be turned over to the SPCA of Wyoming Valley.

Cannon also has been identified as the owner of a dog who bit and severely injured a 2-year-old boy at the park in May.

City resident Tammy Tosline inquired about the status of the park at a city council meeting last week, asking if it was closed because of the incident in May.

City Administrator Ted Wampole said city officials have received several phone calls regarding operation of the park over the last few weeks.

“It was after that incident that we realized the people operating the park on behalf of the city … had no insurance. So because of that particular incident, we want to make sure that’s covered,” Wampole said.

“It’s on city property. So if whoever’s going to run that park doesn’t have insurance, then it reverts to the city’s responsibility. And with a dog park like that, with the history it’s had, we’re not interested in doing that,” he said.

Wampole said someone had recently expressed interest in obtaining insurance and reopening the park. They were told they would need to obtain about $2 million in liability insurance and name the city as an additional-insured party.

“I come from the insurance industry, and any dog bite is a substantial liability,” Wampole said. “It’s hard to find an insurance company that would be willing to take that on because it has a loss history now.”

According to Katelyn Davis, the mother of the Hayden Davis, two husky-type dogs approached the fence where Hayden was standing, and one of them bit him through the fence, she said. The dog latched on and refused to release the boy until passers-by approached, she said.

A lawsuit filed in September identifies Cannon Jr., 54, of Plains Twp. as the dog owner. Court records show Cannon was cited in June with allowing an animal to attack a person, and he subsequently pleaded guilty and was fined $197.

Davis is seeking unspecified damages based on the medical expenses incurred as well as for pain and suffering and the psychological damage the attack caused her son. The suit is also seeking punitive damages, alleging Cannon knew his dogs were vicious.

In November 2012, Cannon was cited for permitting an animal to injure a human after three of his mixed-breed huskies fatally mauled a chihuahua at Hollenback Park and bit the dog’s owner when she tried to stop the attack.

In that case, Cannon was found not guilty at a summary trial — although he did apologize for the attack and offered to buy the woman a new dog.

Contact the writer:

smocarsky@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2110, @MocarskyCV

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